“Then we can finger someone who’s worked with them before. Get them to purchase the information we want.”
Relachik sighed. “I don’t want to go spending months hanging out with lowlifes and building up a criminal record of our own just so we can find the right guy and buy our way in. Besides, I have a large sum of money, but it’s finite.”
“I get the feeling you have an alternative of your own.”
“I may,” Relachik said. “I just wanted to feel out some other ideas. Keep thinking on it, send me other approaches if you have them. I’m going to work on my idea and see if I can get it to work. If not, then we’re back to meteorites and lowlifes.”
Relachik walked back to his quarters. He knew he was going to contact someone in the Space Force, but the question was who and how. He thought of his secret contact, Nick. He might be able to get something done that way, but he didn’t want to burn that particular bridge. This was going to require deception. Once they found out he had lied, whoever he chose might not listen again. Nick could remain a source of information, as long as he handled the relationship correctly.
“No, I think I’ll go aboveboard with this one,” he told himself. Even an ex-captain dropped for incompetence would be able to get more attention than a random citizen.
After all, he thought, the days of my open credit with the force are over. I should burn the remainder of that up first, and keep my surreptitious connections alive.
Relachik finished making his decision. He used his link to contact Commander Gaines. The other side accepted the connection immediately.
“Relachik. Wow. I wasn’t expecting to hear from you.”
“Hello to you too, Gaines. I have a tip for you.”
“What? You working for the Space Force from a private eye’s desk now?” Gaines said.
“Funny. You want the tip or not?”
“Not. If anyone finds out—”
“I’m not begging for a handout, either from you or the force. The info is free and you can use me as the source or fabricate your own.”
“Then go.”
“There’s a group on Halthia Hyri Three. Commonly called the F-clave by the locals. I happen to know they’re a danger to the Earth and the Space Force.”
Moments ticked by with no answer.
Then Gaines replied. “A known issue. But they’re low priority. You did hear the news about the Seeker, right?”
“Of course I fucking heard. What kind of dumbass question is that?” Relachik snapped. Keep that up, Leonard, and you won’t get anywhere with him.
“The Space Force knows about them. Those guys are smart enough to stay off the radar.”
“Well maybe they oughta be put on the radar. They have their hands into more than you realize.”
“We know they front corporations out on the frontier. That’s okay. It helps grow the frontier without as much red tape, gets it prepped for steady colonist migrations.”
Relachik knew the migrations were an important part of the stability of the core systems. With fully automated industry in place, the idle billions had little to do but cause trouble for the government when they couldn’t afford to stay ensconced in virtual realities all day every day. The UN’s solution to this upheaval was to ship people out of the central systems to the frontier, where they would have real-world work to occupy their attention. At least they wouldn’t be the core worlds’ problem any longer.
“Then I guess you’re okay with the alien weapons they’ve figured out? The next step is manufacturing, you know.”
Gaines perked up.
“What the—?”
“Yeah, you heard me. They have their hands on some of the heavy stuff. And it’s gone to their heads. Another few weeks and they’re going to be ready to step out of the shadows and carve out a small empire for themselves. This is more than a handful of local marshals can handle.”
“We’ll see. Heavy stuff is for aliens now, not shitty little gangs.”
“Whatever. It’s out of our hands. But it’s more than a gang. They’re well organized and well equipped.”
“And their storage?”
“On site. I think they’ll wipe it before you get there if you send a human team. But you have a shot at it.”
“Okay, thanks for the tip. Take care of yourself.”
“I intend to.”
***
“As soon as we notice anything amiss we’ll have to make our move,” Relachik said, face to face with Arlin and Cilreth in their ship’s galley.
“I don’t see how it could be safe to go in there during an attack,” Arlin said.
“It’s safer than busting down the blast door ourselves,” Relachik said. “Trust me, I know the navy. They’re concerned with collateral damage. It’ll be as safe as taking a stroll back on Malgur-Thame. We just don’t want to attract attention before the attack happens. We were talking about AIs earlier? If they send in what I think they will—an Avatar-class battle module—then the attack will be AI-controlled.”
“Okay so we’re more or less safe. How do we just walk in there and get what we need? Won’t they want it?”
“They do, but the pick-up team will come in to get prisoners and storage modules after the job’s finished. We have a window. A slender window.”
“I might ask why their hackers don’t come in with the soldiers, if the navy is so squeaky-clean with their surgical strikes,” Arlin said. “But I’m in as long as you’re footing the bill.”
Seeing Arlin was shored up, Relachik turned to Cilreth.
“I wouldn’t ask you to go in there...”
“I know. I’m your computer expert. I’ll follow your lead.”
Relachik smiled. “Good. The suit’s yours. For this one, anyway.”
“What? The stealth suit?”
“Of course.”
“Will it even fit me?”
“Yes. It will.”
“Well if I’m going to be invisible, then why aren’t I going in there alone? You two will be visible enough.”
“I can’t ask you to go in there alone.”
“Dammit. Five Entities, just stay here then.”
“Are you sure?”
“Shit. I’m a twitch addict, remember? I’m not looking forward to old age.”
Relachik nodded. As I thought. She’s tough. “We might not be able to back you up. If the criminals won’t be jamming civilian link frequencies, the Space Force will. Once you get into the compound you should be able to get anything.”
“Just make sure the suit has the juice. I’ll do it.”
No harder than leading a bunch of green recruits into an alien ruin.
His own internal monologue answered him. And you know what happened that time.
“I think they’ll use the battle module. It just depends on what resources are within range. There’s a chance—call it five percent—that they’ll send in infantry instead. If that happens, the suit will need some software modifications,” Relachik said. “It’s designed to be used either solo or as part of a team. There may be a team of operatives in the strike wearing stealth suits just like this one, which means there will be a handler coordinating with them. And it’s going to notice your suit.”
“So they’ll know I’m there? Suddenly the stealth suit isn’t sounding as comfy as before.”
“The Space Force will notice you. The F-clave probably won’t. My idea is, we could try and make you look like a software glitch, or maybe just a legitimate wearer who’s misconfigured.”
“Well, how do they manage them?”
“I don’t know many details. There’s a system there that uses frequencies banned for civilian use. We could turn it off completely. But then I’m wondering if you would be classified as a non-combatant. I mean, an unarmed civilian is a lot different than someone creeping around in a stealth suit in a firefight. I’m not sure if that would make it more dangerous.”
“If we turn it on, then I need to join their team? And we won’t be authorized to
do it.”
“Suppose their team was called WarFalcons. Then what if you weren’t on the team but you called yourself SpyFalcon? Or Observer? They would be less likely to shoot you dead. You wouldn’t be on their team. As you say, we wouldn’t be authorized to join their link channels, but you could imagine they might think someone screwed up somewhere and didn’t add you correctly.”
“The name might give them pause,” Cilreth said. “Okay. I’ll get on this configuration. Maybe ObserverDrone or UNDrone?”
“Could backfire,” Arlin said. “If they think you’re just a mechanical, they might be less concerned about friendly fire incidents. Heck, if I were special forces I’d love to take out the government spy drone trying to report back on all my mistakes.”
“Oh. Yeah,” Cilreth said.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if they try to deactivate the suit remotely,” Relachik said. “But it’s an officer’s call. If you turned out to be on their team, or even a UN monitor of some sort, and they got you killed by deactivating the suit, it would be bad. So they might not try it.”
“Better and better. I’ll see if I can figure out how that would be done and disable that feature.”
“Then we’re back to them deciding she’s a combatant if they can’t turn it off,” Arlin said. “Maybe we should all go in.”
“If I figure out how to keep it from being turned off, I’ll make sure the suit reports that it was turned off.”
“We might have a week,” Relachik said.
“Then I’ll get on it.”
“I’m curious about the battle module,” Arlin said. “What kind of a thing is it? What’s the plan for that one?”
“Its exact nature and specs are need to know,” Relachik said. “But the plan in that case is simple. You’ll sit there and hug a big rock about a kilometer away with the stealth functions on. The lights at the F-clave complex will go out. You wait three minutes, then go in and get what you need. Hurry out before the cleanup crew shows up.”
“The F-clave has internal power,” Cilreth pointed out.
Relachik shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. The power will go out.”
“Doesn’t the Avatar thing hang around for the cleanup crew?”
“No. It will be gone. In three minutes, it will be long gone.”
“I’ll prepare for the less likely contingency, then,” Cilreth said.
“Yes, that would be smart. I can lay out some scenarios for the case where they send in a human team. We can drill those a bit.”
“I’ll be waiting.” She got up and walked out. Arlin and Relachik sat in silence for a moment.
“Did you get me to buy in first just so she would too?” Arlin asked.
“No. I was prepared to go with her. It just makes so damn much more sense for someone with the stealth suit to go alone.”
“She might not come back,” Arlin said. “I mean, I think she will, but...”
“I’ve led people to their deaths before,” Relachik said. “But there was always a lot on the line. I go to sleep every night knowing that I did more good in the world by doing that than if I had sat back and refused to give the orders.”
“What’s on the line this time is personal. It’s important to you, maybe not to her.”
“But that’s another thing, isn’t it? She volunteered. She knows it’s a little dangerous.”
“Fair enough,” Arlin said. “Can you tell me anything else about the Avatar battle module?”
“Let’s see. Should I say ‘I’ve already said too much’ or should I go with ‘If I tell you, I’ll have to kill you’?”
“Ha. Okay. Let me know if you need help with the sim, then.”
“Will do.”
Relachik linked in with Cilreth and started to set up the parameters of the simulation.
***
Cilreth stood in the desert-like environment of undeveloped Brighter Walken. It was only a simulation, but looked and felt real enough. She activated the suit’s stealth function. She checked her arm. It appeared as if she could see through her own flesh, though it had a ghostly glowing outline.
“Do I glow like that? I hope not.”
“That’s just for you. No one else can see it. It’s not just the sim. The suit can overlay your limbs for you for real, just like that. Helps to keep you from shooting yourself or chopping off an arm or whatever.”
“Nice.”
She spotted the rock formation ahead that they had named Station One.
“I can only guess as to the location of the storage,” Relachik said. “And chances are, the F-clave has modified its compound without notifying anyone. So I’m deviating from the floor plans of record.”
“Got it.”
“If the Avatar goes in ahead of you, there’ll be nothing in your way. You just have to hurry and find the storage and get out before the retrieval team shows up to capture the gang members and the storage. This simulation is for the worst-case scenario: a special team goes in backed up by some local marshals. In that case, you have to get in behind the team, avoid the fighting and grab what you can.”
“Can I count on your support?”
The answer was delayed.
“Best if you can do it in silence. But if you get hung up on something, you can ask for help. Remote or otherwise. The suit’s link frequencies may or may not be jammed, as I mentioned earlier.”
He doesn’t want me to talk. But he can’t bring himself to forbid it, either. “Okay. No noise then. Whenever you’re ready.”
“You’re at Station One. Arlin and I will be watching. Here we go.”
Relachik. Over on the west side.
It was Arlin’s simulated link. Cilreth got a surveillance feed. She saw that a drone had stopped.
I see it, Relachik transmitted back.
Has it seen something?
No. They neutralized it. Okay, Cilreth. Probably about a minute or two now.
I’m ready, she sent back.
Everything happened at once. Two missile trails shot forth from the desert, only a couple of feet above the ground. The front and rear gates of the compound exploded. The drones on patrol around the perimeter were all dead in their tracks.
“Here come the robots,” Relachik noted.
“There’s two at the front gate and one at the back,” Arlin added.
Cilreth watched two light combat robots charge the front.
“Do you hear any chatter?” Relachik asked.
“No. Nothing.”
“Good. Maybe you’re the only stealth suit out there. Go on in. Silence from here on out unless you get in a real mess. Good luck.”
“Got it,” Cilreth said. She checked the suit diagnostics one last time. Everything looked good. She sprinted out from the rocks.
She watched the entrance as she approached. Soldiers in light armor prepared to enter after their machines. She counted eight of them. And hopefully there are no invisible ones.
The squad ran inside the gate.
Cilreth tried to calm her breathing as she walked out of the last cover toward the compound wall. Loud cracks of weapons fire erupted from the compound. She glanced back. Her footprints appeared lazily behind her, eerily trailing her by several feet. If someone shoots at the head of the footprint trail, they’ll miss.
The entrance yard was a mess. She saw a couple of robot pieces lying around and three men in glue. She didn’t know what side they were on, so she ignored them.
Her eyes scanned the main building. Two doors had been forced. She ran for the wide double doors straight ahead. A camera bubble or weapons turret had been melted above the doorway. The ruin belched black smoke. Cilreth decided to run up beside the door before bolting in. She heard the sharp snap of launchers and the whine of a stunner.
She took a peek. She saw a smoke-filled atrium. More people in glue struggled on the floor. Cilreth ran inside, keeping a wall on her right side. The room had once been luxurious, filled with low tables and faux-leather couches. She took the first corrid
or that offered itself and looked down its length. A black scar from some explosion marred the floor. She looked at the doors and summed them up: several small ones and a big metal one that had been forced open.
The small doors are too close to the entrance. They can’t be important. Go deeper into the complex. She ran through the ruined metal doorway. A short mirrored hallway split right and left.
Cilreth experienced a moment of near-panic. Which way should I go? There’s going to be so many hallways, so many doors. I can’t count on the map being any good.
She chose the left. People chose the left less often. Then it struck her that might mean the soldiers went right and the criminals still awaited a fight on the left, but she didn’t turn back. No time for second-guessing myself. Besides, the soldiers probably split up.
A commotion rose ahead. An opulent archway guarded by a beautiful but functional metal mesh had been forced. Cilreth ran up beside the doorway and dropped to a knee to peek around the corner.
She caught a glimpse of robots fighting more machines. The robots looked like Space Force hydras, a commonly used light assault robot. But the room was large. She should be able to sneak through. She stayed low and darted inside.
It was like a scene from robot hell. The room was filled with car-sized programmable fabricators and a series of raw material vats. A giant, many-armed industrial robot held two Space Force hydras aloft in the center of the room. Projectile holes had been scattered across its surface. As Cilreth took in the scene, the industrial robot dropped a large circular-saw-tipped arm onto one of the hydras. The hydra was ripped in half in the space of a second. Some part of Cilreth expected the lifelike hydra to scream in its death throes, but she heard only the squeal of metal and plastic being sundered. A soldier or marshal crouched behind cover in the corner to her left, looking at his puny nonlethal weapon, probably wondering what he was going to do next if the giant machine proved unstoppable.
Cilreth skipped to her right amid a rain of hot debris launched by the saw blade. Sparks and metal showered over the stealth suit. She ran for the right corner, next to an exit. She accelerated directly toward a desk and vaulted over it. As she dropped to the ground a metal sphere rolled up beside her.
The Trilisk AI (Parker Interstellar Travels #2) Page 13